Adopted kittens - trouble adjusting

Question
I adopted brother and sister kittens almost a month ago - they are coming out of their shells a little bit finally, but they still run away whenever I come near and hide much of the time. The male is fine at times, but sometimes freaks out, biting, scratching and hissing out of nowhere. It doesn't seem to be getting any better and I am wondering if I should return them before it's too late. The other factor is that since I received them, they have had colds and need to be given medicine twice a day. So I'm not sure if this is causing the alienation or not. They were found abandoned as babies and were in a foster home with eight other cats previous to my receiving them - I think they are about 4 months old. Any suggestions before I give up? Please help!

Answer
Well it sounds to me that the foster home you got them from didn't do a very good job. I would expect them to have taken the time to get the kittens more used to human touch and most importantly to have taken care of their medical problems. That being the case, if you return them you are probably condemning them to more negligence. Since you are writing to me I really doubt you would want to do tha to them. My suggestion is that you take care of their medical problems and recognize they have not been given proper acclimation to people and are frightened. You can get them over thsi with tender care and patience. Feed and care for them but don't try to grab them or pet them too much. Let them come to you. They will come to recognize that you are the caregiver and you aren't dangerous to them. They need time and proper care and they clearly weren't getting it in their foster home. If the foster home didn't tell you ahead of time that they weren't really people friendly yet and that they were ill, I would also consider calling the local ASPCA and having them pay a visit to this foster home to see if the other animals are being cared for properly. Were you charged any money by the foster home? If so that is even more reason to report them - it doesn't sound like the best place.